Chapter 34: The Gaokao Approaches

"With such a decisive mindset combined with keen insight, it's no wonder that despite having poor grades and attending a junior college in his past life, he still successfully passed the civil service exam."

"I'm afraid if he hadn't chosen the civil service path, with this kind of ability, he wouldn't have fared poorly in society. I've somewhat underestimated my classmates."

After what happened with Hu Yujie just now, Wang Donglai suddenly realized that he might have been underestimating his classmates.

Out of fifty-six people, no matter how poor the group, there would inevitably be one or two individuals with decent abilities.

He hadn't known this in his past life, perhaps simply because he and they lived in different worlds and he wasn't aware.

However, a glimpse through a keyhole was enough to see the stark difference between those from county towns and those from rural villages.

They say the children of the poor grow up early to manage the household, but that is actually a falsehood.

The children of the poor simply become sensible earlier; they merely suppress themselves, restraining their nature and desires. When they see something they want, they dare not fight for it or even speak up. Without the guidance and example of their parents, they lack an understanding of social etiquette and connections, and they possess little vision or worldly experience—they only know how to help their parents with farm work.

Wang Donglai remembered a saying that he deeply agreed with.

A person needs two types of education: one is what teachers teach you in school—teaching you honesty, kindness, and courage; the other is what your parents teach you at home.

When meeting people, only reveal a third of your thoughts; never lay your whole heart bare.

There are no eternal friends and no eternal enemies, only eternal interests; the essence of human interaction is the exchange of interests.

The essence of networking is the consumption of social capital and the exchange of interests; improving oneself is more efficient and has a longer half-life than engaging in extensive socializing.

Trying to prove to others that you are a "good person" is equivalent to automatically dropping your weapons and leaving yourself open to being slaughtered.

No matter whose house you visit, bringing a gift will always make the host's smile a little more sincere.

Respect the clothes before the person, and the appearance before the soul.

Parents from rural backgrounds would not teach these social experiences to their children; they would only tell them to study hard in school so they could find a good job afterward.

But in this society, academic excellence, honesty, and kindness alone are not enough to thrive or succeed.

Offering a cigarette first, calling everyone "brother" or "sister," wearing decent clothes, and behaving with grace—even if one's actual ability is mediocre, they will far surpass those dull, honest people who only know how to work.

Clearly, society has formed a pyramid.

Some are born in Rome and do not need to learn these things because they have been flattered since childhood.

Some come from good families where parents provide hands-on guidance, naturally allowing them to reach Rome a step ahead.

But for those burdened by their family background and born into poverty, what heartbreaking price must they pay to achieve success?

Just as Wang Donglai had seen a video in his past life: a blogger from the Central Plains province, whose wife had just given birth. He said his life was already lost, that there was no hope, and he hoped his child would study hard to change their fate. The background was a dim earthen room with a single bare lightbulb hanging from exposed wires.

One could imagine how heavy the burden on that child's shoulders would be.

Just how much talent and ability would he need to change his destiny?

In an instant, many thoughts flashed through Wang Donglai's mind.

The stage of this world is vast, allowing anyone to rise with the wind, yet it is also very small, allowing only a tiny fraction of people to truly shine.

Without a system, without rebirth, he would forever be nothing more than a spectator clapping from below the stage.

No matter how unwilling he was, he could only submit to reality.

"Whew..."

Exhaling a long breath of turbid air, Wang Donglai pushed aside the distracting thoughts in his mind, pulled his phone from his pocket, and dialed a number.

"Dad, have you eaten yet? How has your health been lately?"

The old Wang Donglai did not understand his father, but now, he was gradually beginning to understand.

"Dongdong, your mother and I are going to eat in a bit. Our health is fine. Have you eaten? What did you have? Eat more nutritious food lately; don't be stingy with yourself, do you hear me?"

Wang Yanxing's voice came through the phone, loud and full of vigor.

There was none of the weakness or submissiveness he remembered from his past life.

"Yeah, I just ate. I'm about to head back to the dormitory."

"It's good that you ate. The Gaokao is coming up soon. I heard that in other families, parents go to accompany their children. Should I have your mother come back to stay with you during the exam days?"

Hearing Wang Yanxing's suggestion, Wang Donglai refused without a second thought.

"Dad, there's no need. I'll just eat at the school canteen, and after the exam, I'll eat and go back to the dorm to rest. If Mom comes, she won't be able to do anything but wait around in the heat. There's no need to go through that trouble for two days."

"The reason I called you is to suggest that maybe you should come back. Stop working on the construction sites. I'm certain I'll be the top liberal arts student in the province this time. When that happens, the city, the county, and the school should all give out bonuses, and it won't be a small amount of money. You can use that money to partner with your eldest brother's father-in-law to open a supermarket."

"That way, both you and Mom can have an easier life and won't have to work so hard."

Wang Donglai knew what kind of work his parents did on the construction sites. His father painted the exterior of buildings over thirty stories high, suspended by a single rope, sitting on a wooden plank as he worked his way down from the top floor.

A sudden gust of wind could send a person swaying wildly.

Dangerous, yet cheap!

His mother, Cao Shuxian, worked as a laborer on the sites, moving bricks and mixing mortar—pure manual labor.

Last time, Wang Donglai had noticed that the palms of his mother's hands were covered in calluses, the marks left by years of labor.

In his past life, because they had to support both Wang Donglai and Wang Chenyue through school—even though they attended the most expensive third-tier universities, costing nearly thirty thousand yuan in tuition annually plus significant living expenses—Wang Yanxing and Cao Shuxian never once suggested they stop studying. Instead, they were extremely supportive of them pursuing postgraduate studies and further education.

In the construction sites, Wang Yanxing and Cao Shuxian had worked for over a decade.

They built skyscraper after skyscraper, yet in the end, they could not afford to buy a single home for their children.

Therefore, at this moment, Wang Donglai did not want his parents to work so hard anymore.

Being the top liberal arts student in the province was an honor of extremely high value.

In an educationally impoverished place like Anshui County, it would inevitably cause a massive sensation, which meant the rewards would be substantial.

And this money would be the first capital Wang Donglai used to change his family's circumstances.

At the same time, after the Gaokao ended, Wang Donglai decided he must find a way to unlock the reading permissions for computer science.

In this era, only the internet could allow Wang Donglai to achieve rapid capital accumulation.

"Alright, then I'll wait for your good news from the Gaokao. There isn't much work left on the site. Once your mother and I finish our shift, we'll come back. Don't put too much pressure on yourself; just perform normally. Your mother and I will always support you. No matter how you do, you are our pride."

There was a hint of gratification and even more pride in Wang Yanxing's tone.

When Wang Donglai's grades had begun to soar, he had told Wang Yanxing, so during this time, acquaintances at the construction site had constantly seen Wang Yanxing grinning from ear to ear, looking extremely happy.

In truth, Wang Yanxing was not just happy about the rise in grades; he felt a change in Wang Donglai. He was no longer the rebellious, argumentative boy of the past; he had become more calm, more independent, and had even begun to show concern for his father—a sign of growing maturity.

After hanging up the phone, Wang Donglai's gaze grew more determined, and his heart surged with emotion.

Ninety days of hard struggle were about to face the final test.

The transformation from a cocoon to a butterfly would happen on the day of the Gaokao.

...

Two short days passed.

Wang Donglai had visited the examination hall and even ran into Hu Yujie, but he simply ignored her and turned away, leaving her expression twisted with rage.

Wang Donglai was not worried that Hu Yujie would do anything to sabotage him.

A girl capable of such decisiveness would not do something so foolish.

Returning to the dormitory, Wang Donglai did not relax, but he stopped reading liberal arts books and instead began studying science books.

"Donglai, have you set your alarm?"

Huang Cheng, who was sleeping in the top bunk, suddenly poked his head out and asked.

"Yeah, I've set it. Why?" Wang Donglai looked at Huang Cheng, puzzled.

"I was just afraid that since it's just the two of us in the dorm, we might both oversleep tomorrow morning. Now that I know you've set yours, I can rest easy."

Indeed, at this moment, Dormitory 404 only had Huang Cheng and Wang Donglai left.

Upon learning where Wang Donglai's exam hall was, Song Yi, Liu Jun, and Dang Caizhi had chosen to go home and would come directly to school tomorrow morning to take their exams.

Only Huang Cheng had stayed behind.

Time passed, and it soon became past nine o'clock.

Meng Fang came to the dormitory for inspection and specifically reminded Wang Donglai not to be nervous and to just perform normally.

Wang Donglai could only nod repeatedly in agreement.

After Meng Fang left, Wang Donglai read for a while longer, and just after ten, he packed up, washed, and prepared for bed.

Huang Cheng, however, said he wanted to play a bit longer, as he was at a climax in a novel and would wash up after finishing it.

Wang Donglai did not try to persuade him; he simply shook his head and prepared for rest on his own.

Before falling asleep, a bold suspicion crossed Wang Donglai's mind: would Huang Cheng be like in his past life, staying up until two or three in the morning reading novels?

Subconsciously, he thought it was unlikely, but a voice in the back of his mind told him it was entirely possible.

With this thought, Wang Donglai fell into a deep sleep.

2:30 AM.

Wang Donglai suddenly woke up. With a sense of curiosity, he whispered, "Huang Cheng, are you asleep?"

To his surprise, in the next second, Huang Cheng's voice came from the top bunk.

"Hmm? Donglai, you're not asleep yet? Did you wake up, or can't you sleep?"

Taking a sharp breath, Wang Donglai did not expect to witness this scene again; he was utterly speechless.

After a long pause, Wang Donglai took a deep breath and said, "It's 2:30. You only have a few hours before the exam. Go to sleep. You can read novels anytime; after the Gaokao, you'll have nearly three months—plenty of time to read."

"Yeah, you sleep first. I'll sleep after this chapter."

Hearing this, Wang Donglai stopped wasting words and lay back down to sleep.

(End of Chapter)